Golgari Cluestone MTG Card


Golgari Cluestone - Dragon's Maze
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeArtifact
Released2013-05-03
Set symbol
Set nameDragon's Maze
Set codeDGM
Number139
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byRaoul Vitale

Key Takeaways

  1. Golgari Cluestone aids resource acceleration and card flow, essential in longer games.
  2. Its sacrifice-for-draw ability provides strategic depth and flexibility in play.
  3. While versatile, its mana cost and sacrifice requirement can be limiting factors.

Text of card

: Add or to your mana pool. , , Sacrifice Golgari Cluestone: Draw a card.

Golgari mold collects whispers, intelligence that is later harvested by Jarad and his high chancellors.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Golgari Cluestone not only provides a mana source but can also be sacrificed to draw a card, helping maintain card flow in longer games.

Resource Acceleration: This artifact helps accelerate your resources by tapping for either black or green mana, enabling faster casting of key spells within the Golgari color scheme.

Instant Speed: While Golgari Cluestone itself isn’t played at instant speed, its card draw ability can be used at the end of an opponent’s turn, optimizing your mana use and keeping options open until needed.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To activate its draw ability, Golgari Cluestone necessitates sacrificing the artifact itself, which may set you back in terms of board presence, especially if your resources are already stretched thin.

Specific Mana Cost: This artifact requires both black and green mana to cast, which limits its inclusion to Golgari or multi-colored decks that can accommodate these specific mana requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a three-mana investment for initial casting, there are alternative mana rocks or cards that can provide ramp or fixed mana at a lower cost, offering a more efficient path to accelerate your mana base without the additional sacrifice clause for card draw.


Reasons to Include Golgari Cluestone in Your Collection

Versatility: The Golgari Cluestone is a flexible mana rock, well-suited for various deck types. It’s an excellent fit for decks emphasizing ramp or needing specific color combinations, particularly in the Golgari colors of black and green.

Combo Potential: For players keen on intricate card interactions, the Cluestone offers opportunities. It not only ramps, but its sacrifice ability to draw a card can be incorporated into graveyard-based strategies inherent to its colors, triggering various synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In formats where crafting your mana base efficiently is key, Golgari Cluestone stands out. It’s especially relevant in slower, grindy games where incremental advantage can lead to victory, matching well against control or attrition strategies prevalent in certain metas.


How to beat

The Golgari Cluestone is an intriguing mana rock in MTG that offers both acceleration and card draw flexibility. Its ability to be sacrificed for card draw makes it stand out, particularly in games where mana curve and card flow are critical. Tackling this card effectively requires a balance of pace and disruption. When playing against an opponent utilizing Golgari Cluestone, it’s best to aim for artifact removal like Nature’s Claim or Abrade to nullify the mana advantage or the potential card draw they might gain. Should the game advance to a stage where the player elects to sacrifice the Cluestone for card advantage, having instant speed removal ensures that you can respond efficiently, denying them the benefits at a critical moment.

Strategically, forcing an early sacrifice of the Cluestone by applying pressure can disrupt an opponent’s mana base, particularly if they are relying on the Cluestone for fixing their mana needs. Aggressive tactics can sometimes necessitate a premature sacrifice of the Cluestone, thereby minimizing the long-term card advantage it may provide.


BurnMana Recommendations

Golgari Cluestone stands as a versatile tool in the art of MTG deck building, weaving together the essential elements of resource acceleration and strategic card advantage. It’s a nuanced addition, coveted in decks adept at leveraging every resource towards a decisive victory. Adapting to the ebb and flow of the game with the Cluestone’s capabilities can be a game-changer. Whether it’s refining your current deck or constructing a fresh strategy centered around the Golgari’s resilience, this mana rock might just be the keystone you need. Unleash its potential and bolster your collection by learning how it fits within the vast ecosystem of MTG’s dynamic gameplay.


Cards like Golgari Cluestone

Exploring the landscape of mana-fixing artifacts in Magic the Gathering, the Golgari Cluestone is an essential piece for decks running green and black mana. It allows players to tap for either color or to draw a card by sacrificing it later in the game. A similar card is the Golgari Signet, a fan favorite that also taps for both green and black mana without the draw card option, yet it offers a smoother mana curve being costed at two mana instead of three.

Another comparable card we encounter is the Golgari Locket. Like the Cluestone, it provides mana acceleration and card draw, but with a difference in the draw mechanic. Where the Cluestone draws one card, the Locket offers two, though at a higher mana investment. Commanders Tower, while not offering card draw, gives a mana of any color which in a two-color deck becomes effectively the same as the Cluestone.

While the Golgari Cluestone competes with several similar artifacts, it remains a reliable tool in many decks for its dual functionality. It provides not just a mana ramp but also a potential late-game card draw, a combination that can be quite valuable in Magic the Gathering.

Golgari Signet - MTG Card versions
Golgari Locket - MTG Card versions
Golgari Signet - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Golgari Locket - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)

Cards similar to Golgari Cluestone by color, type and mana cost

Pestilent Cauldron // Restorative Burst - MTG Card versions
Plague Boiler - MTG Card versions
Golgari Keyrune - MTG Card versions
Golgari Locket - MTG Card versions
Pestilent Cauldron // Restorative Burst - Strixhaven: School of Mages (STX)
Plague Boiler - Commander 2013 (C13)
Golgari Keyrune - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Golgari Locket - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Golgari Cluestone MTG card by a specific set like Dragon's Maze, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Golgari Cluestone and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Golgari Cluestone has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks